Italy

Introduction:

A man sat at the edge of Piazza di Spagna in Rome, painting the impressive sight in front of him in watercolor. A young American tourist came up to him and watched for a short time. After a few moments and offered him around $20 American for it. The man looked at the tourist for a moment and told him to come back in an hour when he finished.

The painting wasn't even signed, but it has been hanging in my kitchen ever since I moved to the Detroit area a few months ago, and in my hall before that. At one point it was hanging in my Grandparents living room, but originally it was a gift for my mom from my dad after he came back from his trip from Italy.

I wonder if the painter knew that the picture would be displayed for so long. I wonder if the painter would be immortalized digitally and posted on a blog over 40 years after it was created. After all, the painting is not even signed, or if the man was just there to paint and never gave the art work and the American who purchased it another thought.

Food:

Here in the states, it seems that Italy is known for their food: from their pasta to their pizza, to tiramisu to gelato.

My husband came home and I had decided to make him pizza from HelloFresh. It was amazing! It had pesto, asparagus , and broclatini, a vegetable that is much like broccoli but scrawnier. It reminded me of a the verdir pizza that I would order at Il Ratrivo when I was living in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A pizzaria that was so good that people would travel from Chicago, three hours away, to eat there. The Recipe is as follows:

You can learn more about Hello Fresh by visiting this website: www.hellofresh.com If you sign up you can use my referral code: R27SAH.

My step mom's birthday had been earlier that week, so to celebrate my husband and I took her out to an Italian restaurant, Andiamos. It is one of my parents favorite places to eat out. I had one of my favorite dishes, Gnocchi in a marinara sauce. For those of you who do not know what gnocchi is, it is a small potato dumpling. The meal was excellent and filling. The meal we had really did feel Italian. My family and I had long light hearted conversations that were filled with laughter, and thought.

T.V.

Karl goes to Venice in Season 3, Episode 1 of “An Idiot Abroad”. This is the first episode where he is teamed up with Warwick Davis, the guy that played an Ewok in Star Wars. While in Venice they go on a gandela, where Karl makes it clear that he doesn't get why the city is in water. Warwick and Karl also go to a masquerade party where Warwick goes as Casanova and Karl goes as some sort of Clown or mime. During this party the Karl is made to go into a “pleasure machine” which is really just some sheets to hide the fact that people are shoving things like feathers in people's faces. Like always we get to laugh while Karl just seems to be annoyed and perplexed by everything he encounters.

Work Cited:

http://andiamoitalia.com/

HelloFresh. www.hellofresh.com.

"Rome's Best Piazzas". http://www.free-city-guides.com/rome/romes-best-piazzas/ Retrieved: September 3, 2014.

Yee, Richard. “An Idiot Abroa: Venice & Macedonia”. Aired 2012. 

Painting by: Unknown

Israel

Israel:

There has been a lot of talk the last couple of months about the war going on in Israel, and the atrocities that the the Israeli government has been committing against the Palestinians. Under normal circumstances, I am not anti Israel. Recently, however I am starting to think that the actions Israel is taking is too extreme.

The last few months I have heard through places like NPR, and the Daily show that schools, and hospitals where hit killing hundreds of civilians, including children. The difference between the death tolls from Israel and Gaza is quite different, with Israel exacting air strikes in response to things like one death, or one kidnapping.

This is not to say that I am pro Hamas, or Pro terrorism, because I am not. I just think that Israel is quite literally getting away with murder.

My views of this subject is quite mild when compared to my husbands. I don't get very upset when discussing this. My husband's view is quite different. He would actually rant on the subject. Several times I found myself in the car with Arvind bored out of my mind while he drones on and on about this subject. My husband was so passionate about the subject, that he even painted a picture inspired by the subject, entitled “Bomby Night” (because it looks a lot like Starry Night by Van Gogh).

Since this was painted, the Israeli conflict has dropped off the main streams radar a bit, but that does not mean the conflict is over. The conflict has been going on since World War II ended, so not hearing about it on TV and radio is just that, not hearing about it.

T.V.

One of my favorite depictions of Israel and the surrounding regions is from “An Idiot Abroad”, Jordan” Season 1, Episode 3. Like most episodes of this “documentary” Karl finds himself in some ridicules situations. There goes through kidnapping survival training; he visits the Wailing Wall, which like most things he doesn't get; and he gets taken for a ride Na Nachs, a sect of Judaism that spreads there message by dancing on vans and at street stops to Techno music.  

Movie:

One of my favorite movies about Israel does not actually take place in Israel (though it starts off there). "Don't Mess With the Zohan" is in my opinion one of Adam Sandler's best movies. It is also one of the only movies where Adam  Sandler looks somewhat attractive. In this movie Sandler's character Zohan, starts out as an Israeli soldier. He leaves is Israel and his military career to pursue his life long dream of being a hair dresser. Once he is in the States, he finds that he cannot quite completely put the Israeli Palestinian conflict behind him. With some of his new friends help he is able to unite the two groups of people together against a common enemy, an evil land developer and red necks. 

 Food:

Thanks to Hello Fresh, I was able to make one of the best meals I have had in a while, Lisa's Herby Tofu Skewers with Israeli Couscous. I am sure that Tofu is not from anywhere close Israel, but the vegetables, grains, and herbs in this dish can all be found in the region. 

www.hellofresh.com : Use referral  code  R27SAH .

Work Cited:

Campbell, Luke; Green, Benjamin; Johnson, Jamie Jay; Yee, Richard. "An idiot Abroad" "Jordan" Season 1, Episode 3. Aired 2010.

Dugan, Dennis. "You Don't Mess with the Zohan". 2008

Jujare, Arvind. "Bomby Night". August 2014.

France

France:

Last week several countries had WWII Victory day. One of them was France. This say is known as VE Day. and is celebrated on May 8..

Movie:
The movie that I watched for this was Populaire. This film was released in 2012. It takes place in 1958, before it was really popular for women to be in the workforce. Rose enters  the workforce as a secretary, but she just can't cut it. However, her hiring manager notices that she is a fast typist. She is not a perfect typist, using the one finger pecking method. He enters Rose in a series of typing contests, coaching her along the way. Eventually, they get to the international typing contest in the United States.

This was a cute movie, but it was sort of bitter sweet seeing her go against the American competition. They did however say nice things about the U.S. Something along the lines of the "America for Business, France for Love".

Food:
For France, I made a Quiche. I was trying to be healthy, so I used egg beaters egg whites, fat free creamer, and low fat swiss cheese. Since I was over at my dad's, I used a gluten free crust. It was actually Pilsbarry Gluten Free Pizza Crust.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 creamer
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup turnip greens
• 1 container Pilsbarry Gluten Free Pizza dough.
• pinch of salt.
• Tomato 
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray 9"  pie pan or casserole dish with cooking spray.
3. Roll out dough over wax paper so that it is 1/8" thin. It does not have to be even
4. Line pie pan with pizza dough.
5. Place in over for 5 minutes
6. Mean time, grade cheese.
7. Beat egg and cream together. Add salt, cheese and turnip greens and mix well.
8. Remove curst from oven and pour in ingredients. Cover edge of crust with tin foil to make sure it does not overcook.
9. Slice tomato and add to top of quiche.
10. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 15-30 minutes. Check often to make sure it does not burn.

Work Cited: 
Roinsard, Regis. "Populaire". 2012.

Korea

Introduction:

Today is Budha’s birthday, or at least it is in Korea. In addition to Buddhism,  Korea’s traditions are also influenced by Confucius, Taoism, and Shamanism. However, in North Korea all religion is suppressed.  

I have always been fascinated with Buddhism, though I have never been inside a Buddhist temple. My husband often likes to tell people that I think like a Buddhist and follow Buddhist philosophy. I have never been sure if that is always true.

Buddha himself lived in India around 500 years prior to Jesus. He believed that the your ultimate goal was to reach Nirvana. To do this one had to end ones suffering by gaining enlightenment and through the elimination of desire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism#Buddhist_ethics). Nirvana being the end of the cycle of death and rebirth. Like Hinduism they believe in Karma and rebirth based on your Karma, but once you become enlightened the cycle ends and you join the universe.

Book:

Years ago, I listened to a book called Teachings of the Buddha by Jack Kornfield. When I moved in with my husband I noticed that my husband had a book about Buddhism. I never bothered to look at it closely. All I knew is that it had a blue cover. When I tried looking up the picture of the book I had listened to all those years ago I noticed something: his book and my book had the same name. I looked at it closer: it has the same author. Basically, I had listened to an older addition of the book then my husband had and not even realized it.

According to this book, the base philosophy is the cause of suffering is desire, so if you do not want, you will not suffer.

The second philosophy is finding a middle path. This means that if there are two options that are both good or are both bad there is an option in between that is optimal.

Discussion:

The first philosophy concerns me to some extent. I agree, if you do not want anything you will never be disappointed. However, this takes out a lack of drive. If you do not want anything you are not driven to move ahead and make life better. If you do not make life better, more suffering can occur. This is in stark contrast to the Buddhist philosophy.

The second belief I agree with completely. If there are two options there is a combination of the options that will work even better, leading to compromise. Life is usually not either or, black and white, life presents infinite options to solving problems, whether they be personal, ethical, political, or work related.

T.V. show:

I watched the last episode of M*A*S*H “Goodbye, Farewell & Amen”.

Food:

To celebrate Buddha’s birthday I had made Korean Style dumplings that had been stuffed with minced chicken and cabbage which I pan fried. I ate this with the same style barbequed chicken I ate when I wrote about North Korea.

Current Events:

I am deeply saddened by the sinking of the Korean Ferry and the many high school students and other individuals who lost there lives as a result. For more information on the tragedy go here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/25/306833822/recovery-of-bodies-from-sunken-ferry-growing-more-difficult

 

One of the saddest pieces I saw about this tragedy can be found in this link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/01/308608463/heartbreaking-video-of-final-moments-aboard-korean-ferry It shows a video shot by the phone of a student in his final moments.

 

I am

Work Cited:

Alda, Alan. M*A*S*H “Goodbye, Farewell & Amen”. 28 Feb 1983

 “Buddhism”. Wikipedia. Retrieved: May 6, 2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism#Buddhist_ethics).

“Korea”. Wikipedia. Retrieved: May 6, 2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea#Religion)

Kornfield, Jack. Teachings of the Buddha (Shambhala Pocket Classics). 1993.

Memmot, Mark. "Recovery Of Bodies From Sunken Ferry Growing More Difficult" Published: April 25, 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/25/306833822/recovery-of-bodies-from-sunken-ferry-growing-more-difficult. Retrieved: May 6, 2014.

 

Neuman, Scott. 'Heartbreaking' Video Of Final Moments Aboard Korean Ferry. Published: May 1, 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/01/308608463/heartbreaking-video-of-final-moments-aboard-korean-ferry Retrieved: May 6, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Mexico

Mexico:

Cinco de Mayo, which is also my birthday. I thought this
would be a good day to post on my back log on Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is often thought of as Mexican’s independents
day, but it’s not. The day actually marks a victory in a battle between Mexico
and France. This lead to Mexico’s Independence.

According to Sandra Garcia, the calibration in Detroit is much more wild then the ones in Mexico, with years where police even have to break up the festivities in Mexican town after they get out of hand. 

Movie:

The movie that I watched was “Frida”. The movie is about the
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Who was not only a painter, but deeply involved in
the Mexican Revelation. This movie does not always focus on her art. Instead it
focuses on her relationship with fellow painter Diego Rivera.

Their marriage lasted over 30 years, though they did divorce
and remarry. This is due to their many marital troubles, including but not
limited to extramarital affairs.

The movie did show where some of her art came from. When she
was a teenager she had been in a terrible bus accident that led to major health
problems that would last for the rest of her life. She was often isolated, and in
pain. This pain and isolation influenced much of her work.

Food:

I ate several Mexican food dishes over the course of the

last few weeks. The first was cheese enchiladas that my Step mother Connie had
made. She served this with a side of Mexican rice that she told me was one of
Eva Longoria’s recipes. The recipe involved canned peas.

The Enchiladas were great. Probably the best I had outside a

restaurant.

I went to two Mexican Restaurants over the course of the
week. The first was Mexican Village, in Mexican Town, Detroit. When I think of
good Mexican food I think it has to be authentic, but this place broke to mold
on this. There was no chili spices in the enchilada sauce. In fact the sauce
tasted a little more Italian, yet it was still excellent food. Proof that
Mexican food can be Americanized and still great.

I also went to Frida’s, a Mexican place in Dearborn, Michigan.
I was going to have enchiladas here, too, so that I would have three versions I
could compare. However, they had Mole. I cannot pass up Mole when I see it. If
you have never had it, mole is a spicy sauce made from coco and chilies. It may
sound a little strange, but it is really quite good. In most American restaurants,
it is served over chicken. Authentic Mexican will simmer the chicken in the
mole sauce so that it fuses into the meat.

The first time that I had it, I was working in a factory in
San Antonio. The aroma of peanuts and spices wafted over the shop floor. I had
no idea what it was that smelled so good, but I knew I had to try it.  The small cafeteria that served the factory
workers served it for $2.50 a plate. At Frida’s I had to pay closer to $15, but
I don’t regret getting it.

If you wonder how the enchiladas are at Frida’s, don’t fear.
My step mother ordered some. She said that while this place made it well, she
made it better.

Interview:

I work with people from all over the place. One of the women
that I work with is Sandra Garcia. She was born in Tamahlipas, Mexico, but
moved to Texas when she was only a few months old. She talked with me about the
hardships of her family calling both U.S. and Mexico home.

Her father had come to the U.S. illegally when he was only
14. After being deported he decided he had to make it back here.  He married a U.S. citizen 9 years later, and was
able to move back. Her parents always claimed that they did not marry for his
green card. Beyond love, they both had much to gain. He had been an experienced
rancher with almost no money, and she had inherited a lot of land that was
perfect for ranching but had no idea how to manage such a venture. Together they
were able to develop a great ranch.

Still, Sandra’s parents maintained residence just north of
the border. Her father would take seasonal construction jobs in Chicago, would
go home to Texas and then back to the ranch in Mexico to manage that.

I asked Sandra, how often does she go down to Mexico visit
family, and she responded: “Almost never”. Due to the drug wars that have exploded in the last few years, it has
become unsafe to visit her father’s ranch, or to go down there to see family.
Especially with her children.

Last year she finally felt safe enough to go back. She
recalled to me how much it had changed and how sad she felt seeing what the
drug wars had left behind.

Now that her father is retired from construction, he frequently
goes down to the Northern State of Tamahlipas, to tend his cattle. It worries
both her and her mother that he goes, because they sometimes feel that this
could be the last time they see him. However, the place is his home and the
cattle his livelihood, and he feels that he must be a part of it.

Missouri

Introduction: 
Ah Missouri, a mid-west state that feels more like a part of the South. It is not near an ocean of beach. It does have mountains, but not ones that are snow caped into summer, like the Rockies; they have the Ozarks.

Experience:

This weekend, I visited Branson, Missouri, to be with my mother and step dad’s family.  This city is located on the Southwest Side of the State.

Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Branson, and most people that I had talked to hadn’t heard of it either. Still this is a town that thrives on tourism.

I would describe it this way: Branson is Los Vegas with all the non PG acts cut out. We saw a country variety show, where they sang old countries songs and did clean stand-up. I was easily the youngest person in the crowed, with the median age of people probably being in there 70’s.

Just outside of town in beautiful. The low rolling mountains rise up, and lakes, rivers and ponds dot the landscape. We stayed within walking distance of Table Rock Lake: a lake with some of the blues fresh water I have ever seen outside the Great Lakes.

Right when I got off the plane I was picked up and taken directly to Ava, MO, an hour and a half a way. There I took pictures of barns and dog wood trees.

The next day we hung out in the actual town of Branson, where several of us road the zip lines, went shopping and saw one of the many PG shows playing in the area. One of the ladies (shown below on the left) was in her mid 90's.

 

Food:

We also ate barbeque at Shorty Smalls, a barbeque place that several people in our party had eaten at previously. It is a small chain with only a handful of restaurants in neighboring states. Since I do not eat pork, I did not get a chance to try there ribs, but several others in my group did. Instead, my mom and I had some really great salmon.  While there, I also got to ride a pig. For more information you can see their website: http://www.shortysmalls.com/index.html

Drinks:

If you would like to get a taste of Missouri there are several beers by Anheuser Busch you can try that come out of St. Louis, Missouri. While I was not able to get out to this side of the state during this trip I have been out there before. Beers from Missouri that are my favorites happen to be very fruity beers. One of which is Wild Blue. The other beer is Shock Top Raspberry Wheat. This is my second favorite raspberry wheat beer.

While I like the Belgian Style Wheat beer by Shock Top, I much rather drink a Blue Moon.

When I was young, I was really into Mark Twain. I loved reading The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. The stories were based out of Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. The first was about a mischievous child that got into a bit of trouble the later was about a boy who road down the Mississippi River.  

Recently (in 2010) The Autobiography of Mark Twain was published. It is a three volume set. It was Published 100 years after his death. This was done by design to ensure that the people that Mark Twain wrote about would be dead by the time the book was released.

Locations:

Hannibal:

The first time I visited Missouri was years ago. It was obvious in 5^th grade that I was enamored with some of Mark Twain’s work. So in 6^th grade my mother took me to Hannibal, MO. We got to visit the cave that Twain wrote about in Tom Sawyer, along with visiting several museums.

St. Louis:

This trip was a road trip that started in St. Louis. When we flew over my mom called us to the airplane window so we could see the Gateway Arch. Her hope was that we would see it then so we would not have to make a special trip to see it, and get on the road right away.

I would not be able to stand at the base of it for several years. On my mother-in-laws second visit out to Illinois we traveled down to St. Louis to pick my mother up from the airport. There we got pictures with the arch. We also got to eat a nice jazz themed restaurant, which was quite pleasant.

Work Cited:

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Published:1876

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Published: 1884

Japan

Japan:

Today’s topic was Japan. I know, I write about Japan often, but today was the first day of the flower festival in Japan. It is held every year from May 3 to May 5.

Book:

I had an old children’s book: “Miss Happiness and Miss Flower”. This is a British children’s book about a girl who has just moved from India to Britain who befriends two Japanese dolls. Both the child and the dolls have trouble acclimating to their new surroundings.

Food:

For Lunch, I had Miso Soup and Sea Weed Snacks, along with some green tea.

For Dinner I had tuna tar-tar, sticky rice, steamed edamame (young soy beans steamed in the pod), and sea weed.

Here is how I made my tuna:

Ingredients:

Sushi Grade Tuna steak

Sesame Seeds

Sesame seed oil.

Directions:

1)      In a wok, heat up oil.

2)      Cut tuna steak in half.

3)      Place a layer of sesame seeds on a plate, and roll your tuna steak halves in it.

4)      Lightly fry one side of your tuna steak in the wok for 15 seconds (do not cook all the way through).

5)      Turn the steak over and fry the other side for 15 seconds.

6)      Slice the tuna steak in thin pieces.

I served this over seaweed, with rice on the side.

 

Work Cited:

Godden, Rumer.  Blythe, Gary. "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower". Published: 1961.

"Horishima Flower Festival" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Flower_Festival